Tools for applying armor rods to conductors



Jan. 3, 1961 T. H. BOWEN TOOLS FOR APPLYING ARMOR RODS m CONDUCTORSFiled April 8, 1955 mmvirox.

mam s h. 5054 16! TOOLS FOR APPLYING ARMOR RODS TO CONDUCTORS Thomas H.Bowen, St. Louis, Mo., assignor, by mesne assignments, to James R.Kearney Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware FiledApr. s, 1955, Ser. No. 500,241

2 Claims. c1. 57-10) This invention relates generally to tools forapplying armor rods to electrical conductors, and more specifically totools that are adapted for arranging armor rods helically on electricalconductors at positions where the armor rods will prevent wear, wireburning, and chafing of the conductors, and will prevent vibrationfatigue, and other defects which may be produced in the absence of theuse of armor rods in association with the conductors, the predominantobject of the invention being to produce tools of the type describedwhich are characterized by being quite simple in construction andrelatively inexpensive when compared with other tools for performing thesame or a similar function which are now known, and to produce a toolwhich will perform its intended function in a highly efficient manner.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a pair of the improved tools of thisinvention showing same as they will appear when being used to aid inapplying armor rods to an electrical conductor.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale than Fig. l of one of thetools shown in Fig. 1, with the clamping means shown in the closedposition.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the fixed die member of the tool of thisinvention.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the movable die member of the tool of thisinvention.

In the drawing, A designates generally the improved tool of thisinvention, said tool comprising a body portion 1 having an arcuateportion 2 which is located adjacent to the longitudinal center of thetool. Extended outwardly from the arcuate portion 2 is an arm portion 3which is provided with an eye '4 formed at its outer end, the armportion 3 being preferably, though not necessarily, formed integral withsaid arcuate portion 2. Extending in the opposite direction from saidarcuate portion 2 is a projected portion 5 which at an end thereofremote from the arcuate portion 2 is provided with an extended portion 6that has formed therethrough a screw threaded opening 7. Also, extendedfrom the portion 6 and from the projected portion 5 is an arm portion 8which is alined with and opposed to the arm portion 3 and is provided atits outer end with an eye 9, this arm portion by preference, through notnecessarily, being formed integral with the portions 2, 5 and 6 of thetool A and with the arm portion 3.

The arcuate portion 2 is channel-shaped in crosssection and said arcuateportion 2 serves as a fixed die holder. The tool A includes, also, amovable die holder 10 whose lower portion is bifurcated, said bifurcatedlower portion of said movable die holder straddling a guide member 5formed in the portion 5 and the movable die holder being guided therebyupon movement thereof. The movable die holder 10 is provided with anarcuate portion 11 which is channel-shaped in cross-secatent tion, andsaid movable die holder includes a boss portion 12 having an opening 13formed therein into which is extended a reduced end portion 14 of ascrewthreaded element 15 that is screwthreadedly received in thescrewthreaded opening 7 formed through the portion 6. The screwthre-adedelement 15 is provided with an eye portion 16 at the outer end thereofwhich facilitates rotation of the element 15, and the reduced endportion 14 of said element 15 has a peened over head portion 17 which islocated within an enlarged opening 13' and which prevents said reducedend portion from being withdrawn from said opening 13 but permits of itsbeing rotated within said opening 13. The element 15 has mounted thereona washer 18 having a rib 18' which is engaged by a hot line stick (notshown) that is employed in manipulating the element 15.

The tool of this invention includes a two-piece die consisting ofmembers 19 and 20, the die member 19 being seated in the arcuate portion2, which serves as a fixed die holder, and the die member 20 beingseated in the arcuate portion 11 of the movable die holder 10. The twodie members 19 and 20 collectively define the periphery of a centralopening 24 within which the conductor to be armored is received.Radially outward of the central opening 24, there is provided acircularly arranged series of spaced openings 23, each for the receptionof an armor rod. The periphery of each of the openings 23 is flaredoutwardly as shown in Fig. 4, so as to provide a section of minimumdiameter which makes substantially line contact with armor rods receivedtherein. It will be observed that the parting line between die membersi9 and '20 is so oriented that die member 19 embraces more of theperiphery of central opening 24 than does die member 26; and that thereare more of the openings 23 in die member 19 than there are in diemember 29. By arranging the parting line between the two die membersoff-diameter, as shown, so that the upper die member 19 embracessubstantially more than of the periphery of opening 4, and the lower diemember 20 embraces the conjugate arc of such periphery, the initialdisposition of the tool upon the conductor to be armored is facilitatedby the converging relationship of the rad-ii which constitute theparting line, the likelihood of the tool being dislodged from theconductor during manipulation and before the movable die member 20 ismoved into engagement with die member 19 is reduced, and the lower diemember 20 is wedged by the centrally converging edges of the upper diemember 19 into proper centered relationship with the latter duringmovement of the former from the open position shown in Fig. 3 to theclosed position shown in Fig. 2. The die members 19 and 20 are providedwith marginal flanges 19' and 20' which are seated in the channels ofthe arcuate portions 2 and 11, each arcuate die-holding portion having afixed pin 21 extending therefrom and projecting into an aperture formedin the related die member, and, also, each arcuate die-holding portionis provided with a locking screw 22 which extends screwthreadedlythrough an opening formed through a portion of the arcuate dieholdingportion and whose inner end is projected into an aperture formed in therelated die member for locking said die member in place. The pins 21 forthe respective die members 19 and 20 are, as shown in the drawings,spaced at least a quadrant from their related locking screws 22. Such aspaced relationship facilitates the insertion and removal of the dieparts, and yet assures that a substantial component of the radial forceapplied by the locking screws 22 will be in a direction such as toassist in holding the pins 21 engaged with the apertures 19 and 20 whichreceive them.

The arcuate space of the movable die holder 11 which receives die member20 will be observed to be of greater circumferential extent th n diemember 20 itself, and conversely, the arcuate space in the fixed dieholder 2 which receives die member 19 is of lesser circumferentialextent than is die member 19. Consequently, die member 19 overhangs thecircumferential space in which it is retained in die holder 2, whereasthe converse is true of die member 20 and the circumferential space inwhich it is accommodated. The holder and associated die portion 20 isthus guided by the lower bifurcated portion of the holder intoengagement with the fiX-ed die. Relative movement of the die partstransverse of the axis of opening 24 is then minimized by the portion ofthe die 19 fitting between the portion 11. of the holder 10 and theadjacent portion of the lower die 20.

lthough the tools of this invention are designed primarily for the hotinstallation of both straight and preformed armor rods, it has beenfound that they function very well in the installation of straight rodscold. For hot use, the tools are opened by unscrewing the elements so asto move the movable die members 20 away from the fixed die members 19 toprovide a space therebetween. The rods are then loaded in the diemembers, that is to say, said armor rods are passed through the,openings 23 of the die members of a pair of tools, and the tools areelevated to the conductor to which the armor rods are to be applied withthe aid of any standard eye' clamp sticks, the two tools then beinghooked over the conductor so that said conductor passes through thecentral openings 24 of the separated die members. The tools are thenboth adjusted to the closed position where the die members of said toolsare brought together, and the clamp stick of one tool is then removedtherefrom and such tool is rotated with two switch sticks, prong, orservice tie sticks to move the tool toward the end of the rods, When theends of the armor rods have been reached this tool is held stationarywith the aid of the installing stick, and the installing stick isremoved from the other tool and said other tool is rotated with the aidoffsuitable sticks to apply the other portions of the armor rods andmove said other tool to the opposite ends of the rods.

Iclaim:

1 A tool for applying armor rods to conductors com:

prising a die holder having a fixed and a movable memher, and atwo-piece split die with a circular outer periphery said two-piece diewhen closed having means defining a central opening to receive aconductor and a series of spacedarmor rod receiving openings about thecentral opening, one piece of said die being secured in said fixedmember of the die holder, means in said movable member. forming agenerally arcuate shaped recess, a portion of which recess in saidmovable member locates said also in said movable member is arranged tomove into embracing relationship with the circular periphery of said onepiece of said two-piece die when said movable member of said die holderis operated to clamp said twopiece die, means on said fixed and movablemembers directing said another portion into the embracing relationshipon closing of said die whereby the two pieces of said die are aligned byaction of said movable member, when clamped together by said fixed andmovable members of said die holder.

2. A tool for applying armor rods to conductors comprising a body havinga central substantially C-shaped die holder and arms projectingoppositely therefrom, a movable member mounted within the lower part ofsaid die holder, means depending from the lower part of said die holderfor moving the movable member toward and away from the upper partthereof, a two-piece die defining a central opening to receive aconductor and a series of spaced armor rod openings thereabout, onepiece of said die being mounted in the upper part of said die holder andthe other piece being mounted on said movbl memb r a h of ai i P ec s dfi ing'p r o the periphery of said central opening, the parting line between said die pieces being so oriented that the die piece mounted inthe upper; part of said C-shaped member embraces more than of saidcentral opening and References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 360,623 Siden Apr. 5, 1887 609,343 Harvey Aug. 16, 1898'986,954 Sullivan Mar.,14, 1911 1,202,607 Sweeny Oct. 24, 1916 1,754,023Jones Apr. 8, 1930 1,890,213 Cameron et al; Dec. 6, 1932 1,915,691 Olsonet al. June 27, 1933 1,926,297 Montgomery Sept. 12, 1933 1,955,351Tennant Apr. 17, 1934 1,963,144 ORussa June 19, 1934 2,202,125 TempleMay 28, 1940 2,319,996 Kerby May 25, 1943 2,367,836 Brown. Jan. 23, 19452,455,490 Hubbard Dec. 7, 1948 2,464,860 Green n Mar. 22, 1949 2,858,106Antonet al. Oct. 28, 1958

